John 11 verse 17-27
I wonder how many of you ever owned one of these? It’s a Rubik’s cube. They hit the shops in the early 1980’s and went on to become the bestselling puzzle of all time. They were a big craze back in the 1980’s and it’s said that 200 million were sold in just a three year period. It’s a simple idea. All you have to do, by rotating these independent sections, is to end up with each face showing just one colour. Well it may be a simple idea but it’s not a simple thing to do. I have been in possession of one of these for many many years and I haven’t manged to do it once. My guess is that the vast majority of those 200 million that were sold in that three year period are probably the same. However, there are some people who can do them and not only can they do them but one or two can do them really quickly. The current world record for solving a Rubik’s cube is held by a Chinese young man called Yusheng Du. He completed it in 3.47 seconds. I was going to show the video of him doing it but blink and you miss it!
But I want you to imagine that something you want , you need, you are hoping for is dependen on you solving the Rubik’s cube. For example, you have applied for a job that you really want, it’s your dream job but the interview consists only of a practical – to get the job you have 10 minutes to solve the Rubik’s Cube. Or imagine there was someone you really wanted to marry and you get down on one knee, declare your love for them and say to them “will you marry me?” . They look at you and say, “yes, of course I will marry you but only if you can solve this Rubik’s Cube in 10 minutes”. Or what if it was something else – a problem, a crisis, a desperate need that depended on you solving this problem. Imagine how helpless, frustrating, disappointing or frightening that could be. But now imagine those same scenarios again but this time whilst you are facing the same challenge imagine that you can call in someone to help you solve that Rubik’s Cube. I wonder who you would call? Well don’t call me because you would be no better off but maybe you would call someone like Yushen Du because you know that they can do it. Think what a difference that would make to your circumstances. To be able to have someone to come alongside you and who is able help you to do something that you couldn’t do for yourself.
Well that brings us to our reading this morning and it’s the story of the raising of Lazarus. Now just a bit of background. Lazarus and his two sisters Mary and Martha, lived in a village called Bethany just a few miles outside of Jerusalem and they were good friends of Jesus As well as friendship they provided Jesus with hospitality when he was in the area. But one day Lazarus becomes unwell, seriously unwell. For all their love for their brother Mary and Martha are unable to do anything for him. So they send for Jesus in the hope that he might be able to come and do something. However Jesus is delayed and by the time he arrives Lazarus has died, been placed in a tomb and a family and a community are in mourning. One of the sisters, Martha, comes out to meet Jesus and they get into a conversation. Martha says to Jesus, “Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died” . Now that of itself is quite a statement of faith but it’s nothing compared to what she says next for she then says, “but even now God will give you whatever you ask of him”. Of course we know how things pan out from this point because Jesus then goes to the grave of Lazarus and calls him out and even though he has been dead for four days out Lazarus walks very much alive. A family and community that were in mourning are now in celebration and amazement.
So what has this situation got to do with a Rubik’s Cube and more importantly what’s it got to do with us? Well Martha found herself facing a problem she wanted to solve but of herself was unable to do it and so she turned to an expert, someone who she believed could make a difference and that was Jesus. What’s that got to do with us? Well because there are times in our lives when we can find ourselves facing problems, challenging circumstances and difficulties that seem overwhelming about which we feel powerless to change. Is there something to learn from what Martha said and did that day and that can help us in our lives? I think the answer is yes and I want us to think about it for a moment. What Martha said and did that day which had such a positive outcome was really an expression of her faith in Jesus and as we know faith is central in our relationship to God. As Hebrews 11v6 reminds us that “without faith it is impossible to please God” .
Now it seems to me that Martha’s faith was expressed in three ways;
- Firstly it was a believing faith. When she says to Jesus “if you had been here my brother would not have died” it’s telling us that she believed Jesus could make a difference. Now she had put a limitation on that believing faith because she believed Jesus needed to be physically present in Bethany to make a difference but deep down she at least believes Jesus can change things. That’s a good starting point for us. Do I really believe God can make a difference? Do I really believe that prayer makes a difference? Now we also may put limits on our faith (e.g. God does answer prayer but he only answers other peoples prayers or I’m not worthy enough to have God answer my prayers) but deep down do I believe God can make a difference? If I do , even with limitations, then as Martha discovered that’s a great starting point.
- Secondly Martha had an expectant faith. When she says to Jesus “but even now God will give you whatever you ask” what she is saying is that not only does she believe that Jesus can make a difference but that she is not putting a limit on what Jesus can do. Now whether she thought that Jesus would raise her brother there and then I have no idea but what we do know is that even though her faith was limited she believed for Jesus that there was no limit to what he could do. It was the missionary William Carey who once captured that kind of faith in his well remembered statement – “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” I wonder when we pray , evangelise, serve etc do we believe for great things? Expectant faith isn’t about what we believe our faith can achieve but about we believe Jesus can achieve when our faith is in him.
- Thirdly Mary had an active faith. She was willing to express what she believed in the hope and conviction that it would make a difference. This conversation she has with Jesus is in effect a prayer. She isn’t telling Jesus what to do but is expressing her need in the belief that he could do something. It’s a bit like at the wedding of Cana when the wine is running out and Jesus mother Mary says to the servants “do whatever he tells you”. She isn’t telling Jesus what to do but she is confident that he can something and confident enough to act on that belief by giving this instruction to the servants. Are we ready to act on our faith whether in witness, service or prayer believing that with Gods help this will make a difference?
What Martha is showing us here is that when these three elements of faith (believing, expectant, active) come together then great things are possible. Now it may be that we are feeling a bit crushed by this, convinced that we are not anything like Martha, that we don’t have buckets of this type of faith. Well don’t write yourself off too quickly because firstly Jesus hasn’t written you off and secondly because you are no different to Martha. But there is something else to learn from her and I will finish with this. On this occasion it was Martha who came out meet Jesus and not Mary. We know of another occasion when it was the other way round i.e. when Mary came to Jesus and Martha didn’t. That was the time when Martha was preparing food for Jesus and the disciples and Mary left the kitchen to come and sit at Jesus feet. It caused a family row as Martha complains to Jesus about her sisters lack of help. On that occasion Jesus says something significant to Martha that day. He says to her “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
What was it that Mary had chosen? It was to come aside into the presence of Jesus, to sit at his feet, to hear his word, to know his promises and to experience his love. Maybe Martha had learned that lesson and that’s what brought her to Jesus first. Maybe that’s what strengthened her faith and made it possible for her to say and do the things she did that day. Perhaps for some of us that’s a lesson for our encouragement. That we need to look less to the Rubik’s Cube and the problem it presents (i.e. our troubles and challenges) and look more to the one who loves us and “who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us’.Amen.